Tube for containing surgical articles.



No. 779,388. PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905. s. W. WILLIAMS. TUBE FOR CONTAINING SURGICAL ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1,1904.

UNITED STATES Patented January 3, 1905.

-PATENT OFFICE.

SEWARD W. WILLIAMS, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW" JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO SEABURY AND JOHNSON, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TUBE FOR CONTAINING SURGICAL ARTICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 779,338, dated January 3, 1905. Application filed June 1, 1904. Serial No. 210,693.

To ztZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SEWARD W. WVILLIAMs, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubes for Containing Surgical Articles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to hermetically-sealed glass tubes or containers inclosing surgical ligatures, gauzes, or other articles used for surgical purposes and which after having been placed in such tubes in the dry or moist state or in alcohol or other sterilizing liquid are sealed up by melting the glass at one end of the tube, and the articles therein contained are then usually boiled and sterilized under pressure. These sealed tubes are opened by breaking the same, usually at a weakened part made by scratching the glass with a file or other suitable instrument. When these tubes are thus opened in the hands of a nurse or physician for access to the contents thereof,

more or less s'pattering of the sterilizing liquid is liable to occur and also sometimes particles of glass are scattered about.

This invention has for its object to obviate the difficulties referred to, and this object is accomplished by providing the frangible glass tubes with flexible sleeves, preferably of rubber or other similar flexible and liquid-tight material, which encircle the parts of the tubes at which they are to be broken. A surgical tube thus provided with a flexible rubber sleeve may be broken in the hand of the nurse, assistant, or physician without resulting in any spattering of the sterilizing liquid and, in fact, without spilling any of the said liquid, as the latter will be confined by the sleeve until the broken-off end of the tube is withdrawn from the sleeve for access to the contents of the tube. The hands ofthe operator are also protected.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a sealed glass tube provided with a flexible sleeve in accordance with the present invention. Figs. 2 and 3 also show glass tubes provided with slightly-different forms of flexible sleeves from that shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, (4 denotes sealed glass tubes, which may contain surgical ligatures, gauze-s, or other articles for surgical use and which must be carefully sterilized and protected from objectionable germs or microbes, such tubes sometimes dry, but usually containing alcohol or other sterilizing liquid in addition to the surgical appliances. The contents of these tubes are placed therein while the tubes are open at one end, and the opened end is then sealed up by melting the glass in a well-known manner. These tubes are to be broken in the hands of the nurse, assistant, or physician when access to the contents thereof is desired, and to this end they have usually been provided with a weakened point to insure a clear fracture, such weakened point usually being the result of a circumferential scratch or file-mark, as herein denoted by b. In order that these tubes may be broken at their weakened points without danger of spattering the sterilizingliquid, they are in accordance with the present invention provided with encircling liquid-tight flexible sleeves 0, preferably of rubber, which will confine the liquid when the tubes are broken and which also prevent particles of glass from flying about at the time of fracture of the tubes. hen a tube has thus been broken, one broken-off part can be withdrawn from the sleeve, thus affording access to the contents of the tube. Also should a tube accidentally become broken by handling or in transportation the liquid-tight rubber sleeve encircling the same will still keep it tightly closed and prevent the escape of the sterilizing liquid.

The sleeves 0 may be cylindrical, as shown in Fig. 1, or they may be made of somewhat larger exterior diameter at one end than at the other either by providing each of them with. an encircling flange d, as shown in Fig. 2, or by making them somewhat tapered, as shown in Fig. 3. By forming these sleeves with one end somewhat thicker or of greater exterior diameter than the other a tube which is placed on a table or other surface will not be liable to accidentally roll off, for the reason that the enlarged end of the sleeve will cause the tube if it starts to roll to move around in a circle instead of rolling straight off the edge of a table or other surface on which it may be laid.

The tubes (4 shown in the drawings are represented as being straight, although in practice they are sometimes made curved for the purpose of containing curved needles threaded with the ligatures contained in the tubes. It will therefore be understood that the invention is not confined to any particular form of tube or to any particular material or substance for the liquid-tight flexible sleeves with which the tubes are provided, although such sleeves are, as herein stated, preferably of rubber.

In the practical application of the invention the tubes and sleeves will preferably be sterilized separately before the sleeves are applied to the tubes and then together after the sleeves are in place, so that the interiors of the sleeves and the points of fracture of the tubes under the sleeves will be sterile or aseptic.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A frangible tube, for containing a surgical appliance or article, provided, at the part at which it is to be broken, with a flexible, liq uid-tight sleeve.

2. A frangible tube, for containing a surgical appliance or article, and havinga weakened point at which it is to be broken, said tube being provided with an aseptic flexible liquid-tight sleeve encircling the breakingpoint of the said tube.

3. A frangible tube, for containing a surgical appliance or article, and having a weakened point at which it is to be broken, said tube being provided with an aseptic flexible rubber sleeve encircling the breaking-point of the said tube.

4. A frangible tube, for containing a surgical appliance or article, and having a Weakened point at which it is to be broken, said tube being provided with an aseptic flexible liquid-tight sleeve encircling the breakingpoint of the said tube, said sleeve being of greater exterior diameter at one end than at the other.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SEVVARD V. \VILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM M. DAVIS, AUGUSTUS W. (JooN. 

